Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus: Alvaro Morata spares Old Lady’s blushes by curling brilliant equaliser just seconds after coming on at half-time… but Andrea Pirlo’s side can drop out of Serie A top four this weekend
- Juventus could fall out of the top four this weekend after drawing at Fiorentina
- The hosts took the lead through Dusan Vlahovic’s first-half Panenka penalty
- At half-time, Andrea Pirlo brought Alvaro Morata on, who scored instantly
- The Spaniard curled home a brilliant equaliser seconds after the restart
- Cristiano Ronaldo wasted a good chance to score a late winner from close range
Alvaro Morata played the role of Juventus super sub as the forward curled home just seconds after coming on at half-time to save his side from defeat at Fiorentina.
With Andrea Pirlo‘s side losing 1-0 at half-time through Dusan Vlahovic’s penalty, the Spaniard fired a brilliant effort from a difficult angle to earn the Old Lady a point in Florence.
The result does not help Juventus’ top-for chances, however, with Atalanta and Napoli both able to drop Pirlo’s men down to fifth in the Serie A table should they win their Sunday and Monday fixtures respectively.
Alvaro Morata played the role as super sub as he earned Juventus a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina
The Spaniard curled home a brilliant equaliser just seconds after coming on at half-time
Juventus were outplayed by their opponents in the first-half with Wojciech Szczesny denying Vlahovic in a one-on-one before Erick Pulgar struck the Juventus goalkeeper’s post with a deflected effort.
Fiorentina were rewarded for their positive endeavours in the opening 45 minutes when Adrien Rabiot was deemed to have handled inside the box after a VAR check, with Vlahovic clipping home a Panenka penalty past Szczesny from 12 yards out.
Aaron Ramsey missed a glorious chance before half-time to bring the Old Lady level but poked wide from inside the box.
Juventus had deservedly fallen behind at half-time through Dusan Vlahovic’s Panenka penalty
Cristiano Ronaldo was guilty of missing chances after half-time as Juventus dropped points
Though Andrea Pirlo’s half-time team talk and formation changed seemed to work as substitute Morata took less than a minute to find his name on the scoresheet, curling home a fabulous effort from a near-impossible angle with his weaker left foot.
Both sides enjoyed spells of dominance after the Juventus equaliser, with Fiorentina fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table.
Midfielder Pulgar tested Szczesny once again from distance, while Giorgio Chiellini and fellow half-time substitute Dejan Kulusevski missed chances for the visitors.
Juventus can drop out of the top-four should Atalanta and Napoli both win this weekend
Cristiano Ronaldo missed the biggest chance of all when he failed to connect to a dangerous cross just a few yards out with five minutes remaining.
The draw means Fiorentina, led by Franck Ribery, are now six points above 18th-placed Cagliari in the final relegation place with five games left – though their rivals have a game in hand.